SPRING, and the young joeys explore the world from the safety of a mother’s pouch.

Summer comes, and giant reds lean back on thick, muscly tails, acting out an ancient ritual and filling the rich golden air with leathery thuds.

In autumn the rain pours and the mob lies back in languid repose.

It’s an endless, glorious cycle of life as old as the land itself and it’s being played out every day on our doorstep.

Over the course of nearly a year, The Border Mail photographer Tara Goonan documented that cycle and the lives of a mob of roos that have laid claim to Bonegilla as home.

“I’ve always loved kangaroos,” Goonan says.

“They’re one of my favourite animals.

“So I went back every couple of months to capture the different seasons and to give the joeys time to grow and change.

“And because I started when they had their joeys it was nice to watch them grow up.”

A big, powerful male was unique enough for Goonan to be able to find the mob each time she went looking.

“He was always the one on watch protecting the others when I was around,” she says.

“You could tell it was him, just by how big and muscly he was.

“You got to see their traits and his sheer size and when he stood up to challenge you — you really got a sense of how big and powerful they are.”

A large, 600 millimetre lens allowed Goonan to get close without disturbing the kangaroos. Which meant she could watch and document them as if no one was around with some surprising and even comic results.

“Once they were all on the move and then they all got in a line and went one by one under a fence, each waiting their turn,” Goonan says.

“It was like they were lining up in turn for the bank.

“It was quite funny to see that kind of behaviour — you think of them as individual animals but then you see they are very mob-oriented.”

Family bonds were forged as the mob’s numbers grew.

“He was always the one on watch, protecting the others when I was around." - TARA GOONAN

One of Goonan’s favourite images was of an over-grown joey hopping into its mum’s pouch.

“It just shows what mums put up with,” Goonan says.

“They carry their joeys for a long time, even to the point they’re too big for the pouch but still try climbing in.

“It was a bit comical to see one mum with a joey who’s quite big and has his legs sticking out of the pouch.”

Early morning starts produced the best results — for the best light and the most active behaviour from the mob.

And kangaroos being kangaroos, little happens in inclement weather.

“One time I went in the pouring rain,” Goonan says.

“They weren’t doing anything interesting either because it was raining — but it was just nice to see them in that environment.”

Patience too was key.

“They’re obviously aware that you’re there and you don’t want to spook them,” she says.

“Slowly you move closer and get them used to the noise of the shutter.

“They’ll spend time looking and sussing you out before going back to what they were doing — which was usually grazing.”